“Europe is indebted to us for its security!”

[IRGC second-in-command, Brigadier-General Hossein Salami, says Europeans are indebted to the Islamic Republic for their security. The idea was earlier stated by Hassan Rouhani and was seen as a threat against Europe.]

Brigadier-General Hossein Salami: They must accept this reality that if there is relative security in Europe today, it is because the Islamic Republic defeated Takfiri terrorism particularly ISIS in the region. If we hadn’t pioneered in this global war against terrorism and hadn’t fought them [terrorists] on behalf of the world, today the heart of Europe would be shaken – not with one or two – but with many explosions and destructions. Europe must be thankful and grateful for our presence and influence in the region and our anti-terrorist strategy. If we hadn’t controlled them, this phenomenon would have spread all over Europe. Europe would have suffered a lot for it. And Europeans cannot control it. They know it very well. Europeans know how inefficient their security and defense system is against such issues.

Host: Incidents in Paris showed it.

Brigadier-General Hossein Salami: What they saw was a weak presence of them [terrorists] in different cities of Europe. And if it had continued, politics, economy, and security would have collapsed in Europe. Europeans owe the Islamic Republic of Iran for this.